Let’s Sum Up
God closed the Old Testament with wonderful promises. A special messenger would prepare for His coming. 400 years passed. Then God spoke again. The New Testament opens by telling of the new “Elijah,” John the Baptizer. He was the preparing prophet that Malachi and Isaiah wrote about. Who did John point to? Jesus.
Memory Verses
1) Malachi 3:1 – … I send My messenger, and He will prepare the way before Me. And the LORD whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant [agreement] in whom you delight, behold [Look!], He is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
2) Luke 1:17 – … and he [John] will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.
3) Matthew 3:11 – I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals [shoes] I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
4) Matthew 3:14 – I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?
5) Luke 3:21-22 – Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.”
6) John 1:6-7 – There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about [tell of] the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
OUR PRAYER: You, O God, are faithful, keeping every promise. To You, hundreds of years are just a short while. They do not cause You to forget. Nothing stops You from carrying out Your own plan. How glad we are that You did not keep silent. Thank You for speaking again…